The World Wants To Know: How Does Wireless Internet Work?

Ever since its invention in 1991, people have been asking, ?How does wireless internet work?? Mostly, those people were geeks and scientists, but by the mid-1990?s, with dial up internet becoming more and more affordable, the average person started hearing about other internet options and began wondering, ?How does wireless internet work??

At first, the incredible cost of the new technology prohibited many from looking any further. But now wireless internet is cheaper than dial-up and available to many areas on the planet. This is because of a secret energy supply system incorporating Giant Space Hamsters on treadmills to power the transmission antennas.

What?

Okay, now that I?ve got your attention, maybe you?d really like to know the actual answer to, ?How does wireless internet work?? Even if you don?t really care, humor me. Besides, you never know if you might get stuck on a game show someday and get to the million dollar round question, which turns out to be, ?How does wireless internet work??

But Seriously, Folks?

Actually, there isn?t anything too new or complicated about how wireless internet does work. It?s also called wireless fidelity (WiFi). It works very much like radios, only a slightly different medium. With huge antennas broadcasting in electromagnetic radio waves (different from AM or FM waves), the signal goes out to a limited area to whatever hungry receiver is ready to pick it up. It?s like a roaring river that roars all the time and you get down at a safe place and dip your bucket in.

Instead of having a radio, you have a computer equipped with some kind of WiFi reception device. As of 2006, all computers, laptops, most cell phones and PDAs now are made with WiFi receivers. If you have an older model, you?ll need an adapter. Now, this is where the bad news comes in. You have to subscribe to a service, like you do for a cable service, in order to legally use WiFi. This is where you have to shell the money out, but the costs have been getting lower all the time.

Also, you just can?t set your computer anywhere and pick up a good quality signal. Like a radio, you need to move it around to the best place to find the best signal. These signal places are called ?hotspots? in geek-ese. In your home, you really need a modem or small satellite dish in order to be able to get a hotspot in your home.

Yeah, I know, I like the Giant Space Hamsters on treadmill theory, better, too.

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